Advent Peace Redemption of Man
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Welcome
Advent Reading
Today we light the 3rd candle of the advent season. This is the candle of peace. This candle represents the peace that God has given his chosen people. The peace that we have through Jesus Christ as we have been justified and reconciled to God. Because of God’s great love for us that has been poured out through the Holy Spirit. For Paul writes:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
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Today we are going to reflect on the 3rd focus of the advent season. We have already looked at hope and joy and today we are going to look at peace. We look into scripture and we see that in the beginning there was peace. The first man and woman lived in unity with each other and God. The garden of Eden was a beautiful place of peace. Then we see the serpent come into the garden and deceive Eve and she and Adam disobey God for the first time. In a single moment the unity and peace of the garden was shattered. Man became separated from God, pain entered the world, and mankind was forever changed. Man became unable to please God as sin developed in the lives of people we see the first murder soon after, when Cain kills his brother after God accepts Able’s offering and He rejects Cain’s.
Mankind continued its degeneration in morality until the time of Noah when God floods the earth and only one family is saved. Man has an opportunity to follow God live in his ways. Has man learned from the past and will they do better? Will peace be restored?
Well we know from history and the bible that the answer is still no. From the death of Able, till today peace and unity has not been restored. Philosophers have debated, defined, and hypothesized about peace. They have discussed what it would take to bring peace about again. The question we must ask is are we at peace? Has man figured it out? We sit in this wonderful time and this wonderful nation and we can become oblivious to the issues that are show us that peace in this world has not returned.
In 2022: 600+ Mass shootings, 40,0000 deaths
32 countries at war out of 193 per the united nations. 16.5%
Estimated numbers of new cancer cases and deaths in 2022 (In 2022, there will be an estimated 1.9 million new cancer cases diagnosed and 609,360 cancer deaths in the United States.)
Over 2% of the US population was incarcerated in 2020. 1.6 million
Has the world given up on the pursuit of peace or is peace even possible. Well the answer is yes and no. We are going to look into the peace that only comes from the the regenerating faith in Jesus Christ.
Turn with me to Colossians 3 today.
Colossians 3:12–17 (CSB)
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The Attributes of Peace
The Attributes of Peace
Therefore. Looking back in the previous section of this chapter you will see that Paul is teaching about the new life of a saved believer in Jesus.
Colossians 3:1–11 (CSB)
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient, and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.
Paul encourages them to seek the things above and not on earthly things. There are to put of the things that belong to their earthly nature because these bring God’s wrath, his burning anger towards the disobedient. They are to put off the old self and put on the new self and tells them there is no difference between them that matters. The only thing that matters is that Christ is all and in all.
Therefore because of this they are God’s chosen ones and so is any one who has been saved by faith in Christ Jesus. They are holy and dearly loved. He is going to give them a list of instructions that come from the outpouring of being holy and dearly loved. they are to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. All of which build unity and bring peace.
Because we are dearly loved and set apart for him and chosen by him, we are to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. All of which seem to be getting harder and harder to find. The compassion of Christ when he looks to God and says forgive them for the do not know what they do. Christ’s compassion recognised that the people around him were not just in need of physical healing but more importantly they were in need of spiritual healing. The earthly nature would and will drive people to do be disobedient and reject the ways of God. But our Lord is still compassionate toward them. How are we to respond to these scriptures.
All believers were once spiritually blind as well. John states that those who withhold compassion does not have God’s love in him.
1 John 3:17 (CSB)
If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him?
We are to look out in the world and have compassion on it. Do we look at the young mother who has found herself with child and is thinking of abortion and do we demonize them. Do we look at the man or woman who is struggling with gender identity and do pass judgement and dismiss them. Do we sit back and wait for God’s judgement or do we sit in prayer and petition for the Holy Spirit to open their heart to himself. Do we look at the church member who has different opinions than we do and let strife enter our heart and cause division.
We as believers are to put on these attributes and the come from the fact that as disobedient people we sat before God with out any merit of our own and God choose us. We are not only to put on the attributes that build peace but we are to forgive one another when we have grieved each other.
Colossians 3:13 (CSB)
bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.
Holding grievances and grudges, harboring animosity inside our hearts will prohibit peace from getting a foot hold. We discussed forgiveness last week so we are not going dive to deep into it here but we must deal with it for unity. We are to forgive because we are forgiven. We were enemies of God but then he saved us and we were reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Peace with God
Peace with God
Romans 5:1–2 (CSB)
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
We must have peace with God before we can have peace with man. For it to rule our hearts is not something done by will power, study, or good intentions. For the peace of God to rule in our hearts we must recognize that it does not come from us at all that it comes from the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:6 (CSB)
6 Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.
Galatians 5:22 (CSB)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Romans 14:17–19 (CSB)
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval. 19 So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.
Paul continues with what he says is the most important attribute to put on.
Colossians 3:14–15 (CSB)
Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.
Be thankful. Put on love, let the peace of Christ rule your heart. And be Thankful. To be united within the body we must think about people differently than we have been taught. We are to be a people of love and peace. We are to seek the word of God.
Colossians 3:16 (CSB)
Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Psalm 119:165–167 (CSB)
Abundant peace belongs to those who love your instruction; nothing makes them stumble. Lord, I hope for your salvation and carry out your commands. I obey your decrees and love them greatly.
Abundant peace belong to those that love your instruction. Love: To desire, to spend time with, to cherish, and to protect. To love God’s word is to obey is word. To seek out what he says about living and to put them into our lives. But there is something that goes along with the Word of God and that is prayer. we must know the word but also must allow it to guide our thoughts and minds.
Philippians 4:6–9 (CSB)
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
To have the word richly dwell among the church there will be teaching and admonition as we sing to God in worship and relationship.
Peace in Action
Peace in Action
When all of this happens believers must seek to bring forth God’s peace.
Colossians 3:17 (CSB)
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
We are to live lives that pursue peace with others.
Romans 14:19 (CSB)
So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.
Romans 12:18 (CSB)
If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Hebrews 12:14 (CSB)
Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.
As Jesus put it Matt 5:9
Matthew 5:9 (CSB)
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
What does it look like to be a peacemaker. Well first it starts with submitting to the word and having compassion on each other. We need to spend more time looking toward Jesus and less time comparing and judging the world around us. We must seek Christ and influence the world.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We look to the baby Jesus and read Isaiah
Isaiah 9:6 (CSB)
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus is our prince of peace and he give us that peace
John 14:27 (CSB)
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.
What does peace look like in you life? Do you have peace in your home? At work? With your friends? We know that we cannot make everyone live in peace with us but we are supposed to do what we can. It starts with each of us.
Reflection
Reflection
I am going to ask the worship team to come up an play for a little while. I would ask that you spend some time reflecting on today's message. Write down your final thoughts, sit in prayer of worship and repentance, fill out a connection card if you would like to speak with me more.
Next Steps
Let us pray.
Lets read this together.
Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.